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SkilllCannon's picture
Adjusting to a bluffy image

How do you adjust to players who are aggressive, probably kind of thinking, not crazy who see you make a fiarly big (multi street) bluff? My style is really aggressive and I generally pick good spots to bluff but I feel like as the match progresses I start to lose my edge a bit. Players generally stop believing my bets so much (on scarecards esp). Clearly you just can't stop bluffing completely however it seems that spots which once were good spots with no history all of a sudden aren't good since he calls 2 barrels with 3rd pair or something. How should we structure our bluffing strat in that situation? What are some things I can do against a player who can adjust who just caught me in a multi street bluff? 

 

 

Axif's picture
What you are asking is too

What you are asking is too general. Give some examples, please.

teddybloat's picture
1 make a note. People often

1 make a note.

People often are very disciplined at making detailed notes on their opponenents, especially when they barrel air to all-in. Its also important and useful to know what sort of things your opponent has seen you do: have you been caught limping AA and QQ under 7bb eff, have you 3bet jammed 78s into AA @ 23bb? these are good thing to know. As you can watch out for adjustments.

2 Dont think you can fully anticipate peoples psychological / emotional responses.

He's caught us bluffing. Will he be more or less likely to believe us next time? Some people might now think you are always full of shit, others may think "he wont be bluffing next time, as i have caught him once'. Best thing to do is to note he has new reads on you, think: what would be villains best response to his new reads / my strategy, how would that show up in his strategy, what signs can i look for? Look for those signs. When you 3bet bluff wide, you would expect him to strengthen his minr range. It would show up in a lowering of his minr % coupled with him openfolding and limping more. Seeing a hand like QTo, or J9s show up in his limp range when he has previously minr them would be a sign of that happening.

For your example we might note him flatting top pair good kicker on flops where before he x/raised them. Here he is preparing to face and call down your barrels.

3 Dont over-Adjust

Always adjust gradually. You dont want to stop bluffing, but you do want to be more selective. Also remember that you can make-up for your loss of bluff equity with an increase of showdown equity.

A number of villains adjustments will be good for you. He may checkraise less as he wants to allow you to barrel. So by cbetting you ensure you see all 3 cards, as he will always check turn. So you get to realise more equity. You get to value bet bigger and get paid off more often. You can value bet thinner in some spots as he is paying off lighter. His adjustments will always be exploitative. They will therefore be exploitable. the ability to change gears and play different styles will help you going forward.